When the play began
by fawkes3
Summary: Ever wondered what would happen if two people hating each other must pretend to love? Go and find out all about Lily and James's complicated feelings towards each other. L/J love fic. Please r/r.
1. When the play began I

Disclaimer: Hogwarts, James, Lily, MWPP, the professors, Quidditch...are all belonged to J.K. Rowling. Nalia, who was going to be Nalia Longbottom one day, Gladys Lockhart, mother to the five times winner of Witch Weekly's Most-Charming-Smile Award, Katrina, Catti, Gem, Pearl, Samaro were mine. The theory of James and Lily's love/hate relationship is not mine. The plot is mine.  
  
A/n: I rewrote it, and had it focused tightly on James and Lily. There're tons of excellent L/J love/hate fics out there so I did not put too many words into this subject. This fic weighed heavily on James and Lily's play of pretending to love, which I think could be something new to you:)...  
  
  
When The Play Began  
  
  
1. Introduction  
  
James Potter, sixth-year, a prefect, Quidditch captain of Gryffindor, was famous. Not a single girl in Hogwarts did not know about his sparkling chocolate eyes, his stylish jet hair, or his easy charm; not a single female did not admire his talents or drool over his knightly look on his Cleansweep Four fluttering above the Quidditch pitch.  
Except one.  
James was born to be famous, with an Auror father and a mother being the daughter of the Minister. The boys regarded him as a good-tempered, natural leader while the girls desired him to be their knight-in-shining-armour. In all, James was the celebrity of Hogwarts. Currently, he was single and inevitably reached the top of the most-wanted bachelors list.  
Walking beside James, busily chewing gum was Sirius Black, widely acknowledged as the most dangerous person in Hogwarts. Every boy watched his steps when he was ten foot around him in fear of getting the unwanted attention from Sirius; girls valuing themselves kept away from him for he had a reputation of making any girls surrendered to his lips in a minute. With his black flamed-like eyes, black wavy hair and the fearless grin, Sirius could get much more girlfriends than he was allowed to have. As I result, Sirius was never truly single nor unavailable.  
Remus Lupin, being a few inches shorter than his friends, was in their shadows. His eyes were grey, his brown hair was parted with grey strands, and the air around him was always dyed grey in mystery. Not much was known about Remus except him being a quiet, nice student wearing a slight smile on his battered face all the time.  
Normally, there would be a fourth person with them. But at present, Peter Pettigrew was at the hospital wing and was therefore unreachable.  
James and Sirius were efficient mischief makers. If one did something wrong, they could make all his teeth turned blacker than their hair added together before he had realized what he had done. Whenever they went, all students flattened themselves against the wall and spared the whole corridor to their lordship either in fear or admiration.  
Except one.  
'Sorry.' A student coming out of a classroom pumped into James and jerked his hands out of his robe pockets.  
'Either your eyes grow on your back, or they are too small to see anything.'  
'I couldn't help but crashed into you if your gorilla arms are across the corridor. My eyes are at least big enough to see that.'  
The student pushed James and Sirius aside and continued her journey to the stairs.  
'Which is redder, you reckon, her hair or robe?' James, wand raised, asked Sirius.  
A red bolt shot out of his wand tip, narrowly missed Remus and hit the student's cloak.  
She whirled around, threw a sharp look at James and smiled teasingly,' don't you look cute in red?' After a wave of a wand in her hand that had not been there before, her red pony-tail disappeared around the corner.  
Sirius, Remus and all the students around him burst out laughing. James did not need to take a look at himself to know what had happened. 'Mirror shield,' he murmured.  
Sirius still had his body shaking helplessly in laughs and tears coming out of the corners of his eyes until James pointed his wand at him.  
A second later, another person had his Hogwarts uniform glowed in bright red. The whole corridor fell into a dead silence at once.  
With a last glance at the spot where the girl had been, James turned and headed for the opposite direction, his red cloak roared in the wind behind him.  
All except one was brave and smart enough to stand in his way.  
Lily Evans, sixth year, a prefect, was the only student who had the brains and guts to mess with James and get away unharmed. She despised him completely. In her emerald eyes, he was nothing but a spoiled bat with hair the shape of weed and eyes the colour of dirt.  
Lily and James did not get along well.  
  
  
2. James's pride  
  
In front of the Fat Lady's portrait, James found the very least person he wanted to see these days.  
'What the heck are you doing here?' He demanded.  
The Ravenclaw raised an eyebrow,' how polite. If you're still treating the ladies in this way, you won't keep any of them long.'  
It was James's turn to have his brow raised,' so, someone considers herself to be a lady here. Someone who hit a guy with a fist.'  
The girl's prefect black hair shook against her creamy skin, still looking as attractive as ever. 'Always the same old James,' she said.  
The Fat Lady stepped aside and Frank Longbottom, looking surprised to see his girlfriend with her ex-boyfriend, appeared from behind.  
Katrina rushed to Frank. 'Oh, darling, I've waited for you for so long that my heart ached.' She planted a peck on his cheek, not forgetting to flash a teasing smile at James at the same time.  
James, in front of Frank and his friends, remained calm and cool. 'Well then, I hope you two can enjoy a good evening. Bye.' He nodded at Frank, who smiled apologetically and walked away with Katrina practically in his arms.  
The second they went out of his sight, James's eyes were throwing daggers in every direction.  
Never had a girl deceived him like that. Never had a girl made an idiot of him in front of his friends like that.  
His conscience kindly reminded him that it was him who deceived Katrina first.  
I didn't. James fought back. Even though I had a purring Catti clinging to my neck, I didn't deceive her.  
You cannot blamed Katrina. Catti was indeed pressing her body against yours, you know. His conscience reasoned.  
Any girl in her right sense should've known that with someone like Catti, I was probably left with no choice.  
But-  
Oh, shut up.  
With his conscience crawling back to the back of his mind, James stormed into the common room.  
  
'You allow the girl to treat you like that?!'  
'So what?' James said lazily from his usual armchair by the fireplace.  
'Don't you have a man's pride at all?' Sirius, somehow, looked angrier than James in the matter regarding his former girlfriend.  
'Of course I have. But what else can I do?'  
Sirius put on a smile that could make others flee. 'Revenge.'  
'Revenge?' Lupin's attention was drawn immediately.  
'How?' James frowned.  
'By doing what she had done to you.'  
'With other girls?' James rubbed his chin.  
'Not any other girls. But one who could make Katrina feel tiny in front of you. One who could make her feel that she was nothing in front of you because you can get many other girls better than her at any time you want.'  
'What girl can fit this plan?'  
'She must be prettier,' said Sirius.  
'And must be smarter,' continued Lupin.  
'And the girl will likely to be-' James said thoughtfully.  
'Lily?' Peter, who had just returned from the de-pimpling that he got during Potions, suggested.  
'Yeah, of course, Lily.' Sirius beamed at Peter. 'The only girl who can be compared with Katrina in Hogwarts.'  
'But she hates me.' James gasped.  
Lupin corrected, 'she doesn't hate you. She simply doesn't like you as much as the other girls do.'  
'She'll never promise to do this.'  
'Tsk, tsk, tsk.' Sirius waved a finger. 'You've underestimated your power, James. No girls can say no to a Quidditch captain. If you just find the right way to make her agree...'  
  
The right way to make her agree. James had asked himself no less than twenty times that night. Shall I trick her? No. She's too smart to be cheated. There must be something else, something that she's weak at.  
But what?  
James rose from his pillow and look fixedly into the darkness of his dormitory with his eyes glinted in joy. The taste of challenges, the desire for success, the excitement of doing bad things. These were the forces that drive him to plant one dungbomb after another and sneaked around the school one night followed by another. James enjoyed it. The harder the problem was, the more motivated would he be.  
Lily...What does she hate (except me)? Or...what does she love?  
James couldn't give himself any answer. It's time to ask for the counselling of his father's book.  
From beneath his bed, James pulled out a very ancient-looking tome, which had a word 'Potter' printed in what used to be like gold on the hardcover.  
What am I supposed to find?  
James stared at the book.  
And realized that the answer was already staring blankly back at him.  
  
  
3. A deal was made  
  
'Evans?' The red-headed whirled around, and her ponytail smacked right at his face.  
James massaged his nose. Stay calm, calm. She wasn't intended to do that...Or not. His devil added.  
Instead, James put on the broadest smile he could managed. 'Can I spare you a minute?'  
'What?' Lily studied the messy-headed intensely. Her hand reaching for her wand under the cloak.  
'There's a bargain that I'd like to make with you.'  
'And it's about?'  
'You pretending to be my girlfriend.'  
Lily was wordless for a minute, then, she broke into titters. 'What make you think I'll be your girlfriend-or pretend to be? Still, great joke, Potter.'  
Before the girl could turned and hit his nose a second time, James said, 'have you ever heard about my family's book that my father had passed to me?'  
Lily stopped in an abrupt. James continued slowly. 'It's not like the book of any family. It's the book of Potters-one of the oldest family around, you know. And, it was written how long ago? Probably in the medieval ages. You could never believe what you'll find in it. The spells, the potions...so many stuff that you-'  
Lily cut his speech. 'What's your point?' She asked harshly.  
'Well, my point is, if you agree to be my girlfriend for, say, three days. And who knows? Maybe I'll let you take a look at my book.'  
Lily glared as hardly as she could at James. Yet, her eyes still betrayed her. To others, the terms might be hardly attractive. To Lily, it was like oasis in the Sahara. She might hate James. However, if there was one thing that she valued above all others, including making James suffer, it would be the pursuit of knowledge, knowledge of all kinds, especially about this wizard world that she had fallen in love with at the first sight. From the many never-before-seen spells that James had been performing at Hogwarts, god knew how many new ones she could find in that book, whose existence was already well-known among students and teachers. This was an offer very hard to be turned down. Lily struggled painfully between her proud and desire.  
James looked as if he was enjoying a movie. 'So, deal or not?' He smiled confidently, knowing clearly what the ultimate result would be.  
'Deal.' Lily choked out finally. She did not shake James's hands.  
  
Having been through two hours with Professor Binns, Lily and her best friend, Nalia, collapsed simultaneously onto their respective beds.  
'How could he make the life of that dragon hunter what's-his-name as boring as a duck hunter?'  
'Well, you've gotta admire his ability for that. And the hero's name was Darylo the Dragonslayer, not some hunter.' Lily informed her.  
'Whatever.' Nalia glanced at her watch. 'Oh, lunch's coming. Wanna walk me to the toilet?' She offered.  
'No, I need to meet with someone. And sorry, I can't have lunch with you.'  
Nalia looked hurt. 'Why?'  
'I've made a-' Lily searched her mind for a most suitable word, 'contract with someone. I must eat with that person for three days.'  
'Deal? Who's that person?' Nalia giggled. 'It wouldn't be a he, would it?'  
'It's Potter.' Lily tried to make it sound as casual as possible. Nonetheless, it made Nalia shot up to the ceiling like Filibuster Fireworks.  
'Potter? The Potter?' She pulled Lily up. 'James Potter?' The sleepy look she had on her face a second earlier vanished without a trace. 'I thought you hated him.'  
'Yes. And I hate him. But it's merely a simple business promise and is nothing personal.'  
Nalia was nearly dancing around the dormitory. 'Lily with James finally!'  
'I'm not with him or anything. As I've said, it's only-'  
Nalia was not listening. 'You don't know how many girls will die for the chance just to eat lunch with James! I mean, he's so famous and cute and smart and everything.'  
'I'm not one of those girls. We're simply-' Lily rolled her eyes. An excited Nalia could hardly be reasoned. She would just have to make a little talk with her later.  
'I'm going downstairs now and don't think I'm happy about eating with that creep.' Lily threw a sharp look at her friend.  
Before closing her dormitory door, Lily could hear Nalia from inside, 'tell me what happened after lunch!'  
  
The Gryffindor four were at their usual table by the cozy fire. His friends listened in wonder as James told them how his revenge started. He stopped suddenly, catching the sight of an arms-crossed Lily leering at him. James excused himself with a 'wish me luck' under his friends' smirks and went talking to Lily.  
'You bring the camera?' Sirius asked.  
'Definitely.' Lupin patted the lump at his side.  
'Maybe we can even sell it at a price...'  
  
  
4. The play began  
  
'Remember, you have to look natural and pleased with our new relationship.' James told Lily as they walked side by side to the hall.  
'I know. And remember that the book should be in my hands this Sunday, Potter.' Lily reminded him.  
'Surely, and you should stop calling me Potter. Call me James, or no one will believe us.'  
No one will believe us even if I call you my honeyed-buttered-sweetcake. No one will ever believe us together for we're probably from different planets. Lily snapped privately.  
They arrived at their destination, which was nearly empty. The reason they were there so early was, according to James, to get the seats closest to the one Katria always sat with her Ravenclaw friends so that she could not miss them.  
'Are you sure it'll work? The whole thing sounds really dumb to me.'  
'Positively sure, if everything runs smoothly. And plus, Katrina is pretty dumb, too.'  
'That's quite a rude way to speak of your former girlfriend. I hope you won't do so to me even if I was never your girlfriend.' Lily eyed James coldly.  
James showed her a hurt puppy look, 'do you think I'll do that to you? Never in my life, honey.' He promised with a wink.  
Lily shuddered.  
  
'You should have purred.'  
'Pardon? What did you just say? Purred?' Lily demanded.  
'Girls purred to their boyfriends,' James complained.  
'Excuse me, but my mother never purred to my father.'  
'Muggles,' James mumbled under his breath. Needless to say, their plan ran less than prefect. Katrina did not even notice their presence behind her throughout the whole meal.  
'Cat dung.' They shouted the password together at the Fat Lady, who was so startled that she nearly jolted out of her portrait.  
The Gryffindor common room opened into their view. All the Gryffindors inside were gawking at the two incomers with great interest. Lily and James never looked at each other as they marched separately to their individual friends. Many girls cheered stealthily as that probably meant James would need a new girlfriend soon. Many were so surprised and disappointed when they saw James with Lily in the hall. On their way to the dormitory, Nalia was starting to say, 'how-' but was interrupted firmly by a glowering Lily, 'do not ask!'  
  
Nalia peeked out the door. 'Oh my, Lily, he's waiting under the stairs.' The afternoon passed so quickly that Lily thought earth was starting to rotate faster.  
Asking me to purr! It's his fault. Even now she was debating with herself. I won't talk to him or do anything he asks until he apologizes.  
The softie inside her spoke. You can't blame him. He's just been abandoned by his girlfriend. The poor thing's probably experiencing emotional trough now.  
He deserves it!  
'Lily, you've gotta do something. You can't make him wait there all night, and you can't hide from him forever.'  
Lily sprang up from her bed. 'I'm not hiding from him!' After that, she dropped back to her pillow again. 'You can go and have supper first. I'll come later.'  
Nalia sighed, 'whatever you say.'  
Lily rolled over her bed a few more times and rose lazily. Tying her long red hair into a ponytail with the help of her lily-patterned hairbrush, she had her mind made up.  
Opening the dormitory door, she found James, as Nalia had said, waiting alone for her under the stairs. James's messy head shot up at her footsteps, and his chocolate eyes sparkled at the sight of her. Lily's heart softened immediately.  
'Ah, you finally come. I was wondering if you'd ever come down or not. I apologize for the lunch, okay? Now, let's go before the seats are taken.' Before Lily could say anything, James had caught her hand and pulled her towards the portrait hole.  
  
'Oh no, we're late.' James half brought Lily to the hall and found it to be quite crowded. 'Bet our seats were taken.'  
From afar, Nalia waved and winked at Lily. During the Divination lesson, Lily told her best friend about James's and her deal as they had nothing better to do. Nalia kept giggling and gasping in surprise till Professor Trelawney asked her concernedly what was wrong and foretold her unusual behaviour could be the sign of a tragic future. 'No, they're still here.'  
James saw Nalia as well. 'Your friend saved them for us? Thank her for me. '  
Well, he isn't that bad for a friend, really. Lily commented to herself as she watched a beaming James waved back at Nalia in gratitude.  
Katrina and her friends were among the last few to enter the hall for meal. So when Lily and James had finally squeezed their way to their chairs, they still got time to discuss their next moves.  
'If you cannot purr, at least do something friendly and not to seat there like a robert.'  
'So, what do you propose I should do then? And it's robot. Don't use muggle terms if you don't know.'  
'You get my meaning... Maybe you can, you know, feed me. Yes, that's what valentines always do.'  
'Feed you?' The old flame glowed in Lily's eyes. 'Hello, am I speaking to a handicapped here?'  
But James's attention was drawn away. 'Look. Here come our little couple. Aren't them cute?' He said sarcastically.  
Lily saw them too-hand in hand, mouth against ear, talking and laughing, completely oblivious to the surroundings. They looked more like lovers than she and James could ever pretend to look so.  
'Frank? What's she doing with Frank?' Lily asked sharply.  
James was surprised. 'They're an item now. I thought you know.'  
Lily knew now, but not Nalia.  
'What? You fancy him?' He gaped in astonishment.  
'No, of course not. It's just-' She's not going to let out her friend's darkest secret to him. 'Frank is a good guy, and he deserved someone better than Katrina.'  
'Katrina isn't that bad.' James murmured and luckily Lily did not hear him.  
'Potter.'  
'Yes?' James turned to found her wearing a look of utter determination.  
'I'll do it. But no purring.' Lily added quickly.  
  
'Did you see her look when I called you my sweet watermelon?' James, shaking in laughs, asked Lily, who was breathless from too many ha-has as well.  
'Yeah. She looked like a bullfrog with her goggling eyes and her cheeks swelling up. And did you notice her shoulders had trembled when I asked you to open your mouth and then fed you?'  
'Absolutely. I would not miss that for a thousand galleons.'  
Tonight, the Fat Lady and the Gryffindors were pretty nonplussed to find two very different James and Lily as they climbed through the hole. When they parted to return to their own corners of the common room, both were eager to expect what would come tomorrow. In her dormitory, this time, Lily was more than willing to give Nalia a blow by blow account of James's revenge during supper, though she avoided mentioning Frank.  
  
  
5. A lesson with fairies (and monsters)  
  
Lily watched in delight as Professor Filtwick grabbed a handful of blue powder from a glass bottle and threw it into the air. The fine powder flickered under the light and it reminded Lily greatly of the flying powder in Peter Pan. When the professor pointed his wand at it and said the magic word, a lovely little boy with wings and dressed in blue pants appeared out of the mid air from nowhere in a flash. The remaining powder sank slowly under him like snowflakes.  
Lily gasped in amazement along with all the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws. She had been expecting this day for all her life. Ever since the day she saw Professor Filtwick did that in year one, she had fallen in love with Charms and had been looking forward to it. Her heart beat merrily now thinking of it.  
'Today, I'm going to teach you how to summon fairies,' the professor announced. 'There are three rules that you should bear in mind. First, not everyone can summon any fairies they like. See the fairy I just summoned?' The fairy that had flown around the classroom with unbelievable speed eventually landed on the professor's head and fell into sleep on it.  
'It is a boy and will always be a boy, as long as I'm a male. Because fairies can only be summoned by people of the same sex as they are. So, it's one of the most effective ways to determine one's sex if it's not conspicious enough.' The class laughed.  
'Second, fairies are harmless magical creatures of nature. They are divided with the colours of the rainbow. Hence, there are seven types of fairies. The powder in this bottle is in fact flower pollen. As you could've guessed, pollen of that colour will summon fairies of that colour.  
'Third, you need to say the magic word "Fairos!" clearly. In addition to these three simple rules, considerable skills on Charms is required to suceed so if someone fails to do so or summon other creatures instead, do not panic and report to me at once for me to deal with it.' Professor Filtwick's beady eyes unmistakably fell on Peter, who sank lower under his desk.  
'Due to the first rule, you have to work in pairs-boys and girls.' This statement brought immediate response from the class. Girls giggled and boys' eyes darted from female to female.  
'But-but,' the students cooled down as the professor continued. 'To prevent mayhem, you'll get paired in random.' Some girls groaned loudly in complaint.  
The teacher levitated a wooden chest as tall as himself onto his table. 'Inside will be twenty bottles with different colour of pollen. Students getting the same colour will work together and the box will ensure no two girls or boys will be paired up.'  
  
Who cared whom she would end up with? Lily thought as she joined the queue of students. So long as she could summon those cute fairies.  
When Lily pulled a bottle filled with yellow powder, her heart leapt...no sank. She corrected herself. If she wasn't mistaken, the only person who got the same colour with her was...he was walking towards her with a mischievous smirk on his face...James.  
As if I haven't spent enough time with him these days. Lily cursed her luck as James pulled the chair next to her. Also, she analyzed the funny feelings in her stomach by saying to herself that she was both shocked and disappointed at the arrangement, mostly under the influence of her proud.  
James didn't look at all unhappy. 'So, here we are again.' He proclaimed with a sickening grin (in Lily's own opinion of course).  
'I want bonus for this extra work. We're not supposed to be together except during meals.' She grumbled.  
'Hey, I didn't make you draw that yellow bottle.' He protested.  
Well, that was true.  
Not far from them, Katrina was eying her partner, Peter, with both fear and disgust.  
  
'Fairos!' From the air above James, appeared a boy fairy in yellow pants.  
Lily glared at the prefect fairy. She might not be as good as James in Transfiguration but she came first in Charms and she was not going to give up that position without a fierce fight.  
Directing her wand at the floating powder, Lily also summoned a prefect fairy in a yellow dress with a 'Fairos!'  
James, an eyebrow raised, took that as a challenge and accepted it with a slight smile. Opposite to him, Lily, wand tight in her grip, was ready to prove to him that she didn't get the second best marks in her year for nothing.  
'Fairos!' Another pair of fairies joined their flying friends.  
Around them, the other students were not so smooth in their summoning. Some found instead of two wings, their fairies had two legs that added up the total to four; some found their fairies to violate their professor's definition of fairies being 'harmless' by having sharp teeth that bit; many more found themselves staring into half-fairies or quarter-fairies with the remaining fractions being replaced by parts from other creatures.  
It wasn't until Professor Filtwick had popped up between them did James and Lily notice their classmates had their eyes fixed on them in bewilderment and the huge cloud of golden yellow above their heads that were the fairies. They laughed further more when they saw each other's head and shoulders being covered completely in yellow powder.  
'Er...professor?' Peter asked shakily from behind.  
The referred teacher let out a deep, long sigh. 'Yes, Peter?'  
'There's a-a...' Peter could do naught but point. On his desk was a really strange creature. Calling it a monster would be more appropriate for it had a rat's head and tail and what looked like the body of a frog.  
'A moufrog, dear.'  
The moufrog, being nervous under the sudden attention it got, jumped onto the perfectly combed hair of Katrina, who was hiding behind her chair. The thunderstruck girl watched horridly as the moufrog, which seemed unfamiliar with its frog limbs, slid down her straight nose. And when her mouth opened into a scream, its hairless tail landed on her tongue.  
The whole class thundered with laughter.  
  
  
6. Did I care about your feelings?  
  
'What does the note say?' Peter, with his head practically buried among the crowd standing outside the hall and a red patch that matched the shape of Katrina's hand flawlessly on his swollen cheek, had to relied upon his taller friends for the information on the school board.  
'They're going to give us the Hogsmeade visit back tomorrow, after all.' Sirius cheered.  
Traditionally, Hogwarts students had a Hogsmeade visit before the Halloween party. Yet, on that day, two hundred muggles were kind enough to pay the Hogsmeade village a visit by landing their airplane there due to a leaking oil tank. Naturally, the Hogwarts students' one had to be cancelled as the village was already extremely crowded with its villagers and muggles and one hundred more visitors from the Ministry.  
'I was thinking they were going to steal it from us forever.' Lupin commented on their way to the common room.  
'It's surprising McGonagall would make such a decision. Must be Dumbledore,' said James. 'Oh wait I've got an idea... There she is.'  
Sirius and Lupin watched silently as James went talking to Lily. Even the flame usually present in Sirius's eyes was gone.  
  
'What's Sirius and Peter?' James found Lupin alone at their table.  
'Toilet.' Lupin studied James in an almost un-Lupin-like way and asked, 'what you and Lily were talking about just now?'  
James grinned, 'I asked her to go to Hogsmede tomorrow with me-a final strike to the unforgivable Katrina who brought me the shame. Ha!'  
Lupin did not looked too excited. James was starting to get uneasy under his friend's penetrating stare.  
'James, are you sure all you wanna do is to anger Katrina?'  
'Absolutely, that's the reason for the whole thing.' James was surprised at Lupin's question. 'It were you and Sirius suggested it to me after all.'  
Catching James's look, Lupin shook his head and sighed, 'you never care about girls' feelings, James.'  
James, on the other hand, had not a single idea of what his friend had talked about.  
  
Lily and James were, again, among the first to enter the hall. After a few times' practice, they now took their business more gladly and casually. For the time being as they were waiting for supper to start, they even chatted like long-known friends.  
'Rock stars? Muggles have rock stars?'  
'Yes, I thought you knew.'  
'How do rock stars shine?' James asked out of logic.  
Lily frowned. 'Well...I've been pondering about that myself for ages.' Then, she cracked up.  
'No, rock stars are musicians who play a kind of music known as rock, which I think you may like.' Lily explained.  
'Why, did muggles name some music as rock?'  
This time, Lily really had to twist her mind and think about it. 'Probably because...you'll want to bang your head against a rock when you hear it.'  
'I doubt I will like it.'  
'Why?'  
'Because I don't think I'll like to hit my head with a rock.' James answered matter-of-factly.  
'Of course, of course.' And Lily broke into a series of laughter again.  
'Lily, you know what? You're a very special girl.' James looked at her almost in admiration.  
The familiar funny feelings grew in Lily's stomach.  
It's hunger. Yes, I'm really hungry from the laughs. She told herself.  
  
Since Lily had to see Professor Filtwick, James walked back to the common room alone and met the very least person he wanted to see these days without Lily by his side, Katrina.  
'Waiting for Frank?'  
'Yes.' She replied coldly.  
Instead of saying the password to the Fat Lady, James asked Katrina seriously, 'did I care about your feelings?'  
He expected her to scowl, to shout, anything but shook her head and sighed just like Lupin. 'James, you make an excellent friend, but you are a poor excuse for a lover.'  
'But Catti and I-' James began to argue.  
'I know what Catti is like, James.' Katrina looked at him straight in the eyes. 'I knew you weren't intended to do that.'  
'Then-'  
'I don't know if you treated all your other ex-girlfriends in this way or it's just me. But ask yourself, James, ask yourself if you have ever genuinely cared about my personal feelings. And even now, you came and asked me that, which isn't what you can call a pleasant question to any ex-girlfriend. And I think you should get the answer from yourself, not from me.'  
'I'm sorry, I-'  
'It's okay, James, okay. I like you, though, obviously, I'm not the one for you.' Katrina patted his shoulder.  
The Fat Lady, who had pretended to be asleep yet heard everything, disappeared as Frank and Nalia came out through the portrait hole.  
This time, Frank looked less than happy to see his girlfriend with her former boyfriend. Still, he smiled friendly at James as he left with Katrina.  
When he turned and caught the look on Nalia's face, James understood why Lily was suddenly so keen to get Katrina mad.  
  
  
7. A night stroll to the kitchen  
  
'I'm starving. Gonna fetch some food. Want some?' James asked his friends.  
'It's only nine.' Lupin gasped. 'You didn't have dinner?'  
'Or you didn't eat well without us to compete with you?' Sirius teased.  
'I just feel hungry.' That was hardly an excuse but there's no way he would let his friends know he didn't eat much during supper because he was chatting busily with Lily.  
'Er...James?' Peter called.  
'What?'  
'Can you bring some food for me please? I'm a bit hungry.' Peter smiled awkwardly.  
'Whatever you say.'  
  
James liked to travel in his invisibility cloak. For one thing, it was a great fun to be invisible. For another, he could avoid drawing attention from giggling girls as well as pumping into those he didn't want to meet, like Snape or Flich for instance.  
Unluckily, or perhaps very fortunately, James found Miss Norris, which was still a virgin at that time, padding towards him along the corridor. Surely he could bypass it if he was on another corridor. This particular corridor only linked to the prefect's bathroom and was intended only for prefects to use. The corridor was too narrow and Miss Norris was no slim kitten.  
James had three options: jumped over Miss Norris, went all the way back, or waited in a bathroom. Since James did not appreciate of having a horny cat between his legs, even for a second, he chose option three that offered the shortest route to his food.  
Facing the door under his silvery cloak, James whispered his name and assigned his favourite password 'Butterbeer' to it. (This was the old system of Hogwarts' prefect bathrooms.) As it was pretty normal to see doors that open automatically in Hogwarts, Miss Norris, totally oblivious of a male near her, continued her catwalk along the corridor as graciously as her round body allowed.  
  
James, leaning against the marble sink, thought he had sacrificed enough time to earn a cat-free corridor when the bathroom door suddenly opened. To his much horror, a little bit surprise as well as some amusement, Lily, her hands buried under a pile of clothes, walked into the bathroom.  
A horrible thought passed his mind.  
How does she get in here? I've assigned the door a password.  
Then, a less than horrible thought appeared.  
Is she going to take a bath?  
Lastly, a more than pleasant thought caught his attention.  
Am I going to stand and wait?  
And he had a wide grin on his face.  
No. No. No. His conscience crawled out again from the back of his mind. This isn't right and t'is a cheap thing to do-spying on girls taking bath.  
I'm not spying. I'm merely watching. I mean, I came here first and t'is my bathroom. The devil inside him rebutted.  
But this is no other girls. She's Lily. Conscience reminded.  
Well, if she was other girls like Katrina. He might be more than comfortable to do whatever his devil desired to do. But conscience's right. T'is Lily, after all. Even his devil felt uneasy about this. For some reason, he, and all the voices within his head, thought differently of Lily as a girl.  
James was no novice in girls. Nevertheless, he was still a bloody teenager and it cost him every ounce of righteous strength to fight back the powerful hormonal influence in his veins. In addition, and most important of all, Lily was quite the opposite of an ugly and unsttractive girl.  
If someone had the ability to see the invisible, he could be highly entertained to see a messy-haired boy rotating on his spot next to the sink with a painful look on his face as if he was undergoing some bloody self battle.  
  
Eventually, the battle came to an end. Neither conscience nor devil won. His proud did.  
Proud's voice, loudest of all, came near the end. If I want to watch a girl taking a bath, I'll ask her openly like a man and not peeking at her like some freak who does not have enough manhood to make a girl surrender willingly. Proud won instantly.  
But proud's power could only hold James's back against Lily till she was safely hidden in the pool, anyway.  
'I can see nothing except her head.' James, dropping into a sitting position on the marble floor, assured his conscience.  
Her eyes are so green.  
Lily hummed a little song to herself.  
She has a beautiful voice, too. If she isn't snapping or laughing like a guy.  
Her shoulders are so round, so are her arms. Look, it just comes to a prefect bend in the middle...  
Conscience, sensing the potential danger if this continued, brought James's eyes back to Lily's head.  
Oh, her red hair looks so nice under the light. She really should've let it that way all over her shoulders. It'll make her look more feminine. I for one will treat her nicer as a girl...  
Lupin's voice somehow stood out from his mind. You never care about girls' feelings, James.  
Katrina's, too. You should get the answer from yourself, not from me.  
And then there was his own voice. Did I care about your feelings?  
Do I?  
  
  
8. The vanishing brush  
  
James, with his eyes on Lily's face, was so deep in his thoughts that he didn't realize she had already finished her bath and was getting out of the pool. He had ended up seeing a little more things he shouldn't see before he could whirled himself around. His mind was entangled in thoughts among thoughts that he didn't need to struggle with himself any longer. After what felt like eternity to James, Lily left the bathroom.  
Realizing how much time he had wasted (gladly wasted, he added secretly) in this bathroom, James decided it was time to leave when a blue something by the pool caught his eyes.  
Approaching it with cautious steps, he discovered it to be a hairbrush with little lilies on it. James raised it to his face. It still carried the smell of Lily's shampoo.  
Just at that very moment, the bathroom door was opened and Lily appeared from behind. James nearly jolted out of his cloak.  
She must be coming back for the brush!  
James looked at the blue hairbrush in his hand. Oh no, it has gone invisible with me. He swallowed a big lump in his throat.  
If James was surprised, it could not be compared to how Lily felt. Her hairbrush gone in a minute! Could it be flushed into the pool along with the water? She examined the hole. It could hardly accomodate a toothbrush, let alone a three times bigger hairbrush.  
James gasped in shock as Lily turned and walked straight into him. Thanked to his Quidditch practice, he jumped out of her way before she could feel him physically. Lily, eyes narrowed, seemed to hear the gasp but didn't do anything, not that she had anything to do either. After several minutes of searching and rubbing forehead, she left with a final desperate look around the bathroom. James collapsed on the floor in a corner, the brush tight in his grip.  
  
'You've been gone for a long time.'  
'And I see you haven't brought back any food either.' Sirius and Lupin's faces were packed with as much suspicion as they could manage.  
'Cos, I'm simply...full from the trip.' James's hand was on the lump under his robe. Must not let them know.  
'No food?' Peter looked very disappointed. It seemed like he was a bit more than a bit angry.  
'Oh, I forgot about you. Sorry, Peter. But I still get a few apples in the dormitory. Want some?' Peter nodded happily.  
  
With Lily's hairbrush under his pillow, James was sleepless.  
He was going to fetch his invisibility cloak for another trip to the kitchen (he felt hungry now) when he heard Sirius under Peter's snores.  
Not moving an inch, he pretended to be asleep but listened attentively.  
'I think I've got something for her.' Sirius pressed his voice into a low whisper.  
'Something? You didn't mean feelings?' Sirius gasped.  
'Yes, it is.' Sirius admitted with a touch of rare sadness. 'Do you think James will mind if I...you know...'  
'Of course he won't.' Lupin assured confidently. 'He's just acting with her like in a play. His only intention was to get Katrina mad. He told me so surely this afternoon. And from the way they shouted at each other. You'll think they are from families of Romeo and Juliet.'  
Romeo and Juliet? James searched his mind and got nothing related to them. Probably two jerks selling easter eggs on the same street.  
'Well, that's good then.' Sirius sighed in relief.  
'Why are you so interested in her all of a sudden?'  
'She's simply so...ritzy...But it's her eyes, Remus,' said Sirius dreamily, 'her eyes...so beautiful and so green that I can't help but to be pulled into them and lose my senses.'  
That night, James did not sleep well.  
  
  
  
  
  
  


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	2. When the play began II

9. Before the Hogsmede visit  
  
'Lily?'  
'Mm, Sirius?'  
'Lily, could you stop doing your homework and listen to me for a moment, please? I've something that need to say to you and it's for your ears only.' He sat himself next to her.  
'Okay.' Lily finished her last sentence: 'be prepared for what will come' and abandoned her Divination chart. 'What's it?' She asked with an easy smile.  
Sirius found himself admiring that smile, and, as if without any thoughts, he leaned towards Lily till his legs brushed against hers and his face merely an inch from her cute little nose. He was opening his mouth to say something when a shadow cast over her face, and Lily, eyes widened at whatever above Sirius's head, shrieked, 'Sirius, look behind!'  
Sirius whirled around and was immdeiately hit by a bunch of something hard and dry.  
Massaging his nose, he shouted at his attacker, 'what're you doing with a broom at eight in the morning?!'  
'Morning Quidditch practice.'  
'And what do you hit me for?!'  
'I were not hitting you. There was a fly on your head. You know how I hate flies.' James, his broom over one shoulder, left through the portrait hole without a backward look.  
Sirius's eyes met Lupin's, who nodded solemnly. Turning back to Lily, Sirius found Lily already had her mind back on the parchment. Yet, feeling his eyes, she said, 'Sirius, you got a few twigs among your hair.'  
  
This was the last day of their deal. As they were having their lunch, they talked excitedly about some interesting muggle habits with Katrina completely out of their mind. Then, James, his mouth full with pumpkin juice, raised a question, 'so, when do you want my book?'  
Lily swallowed a mouthful of milk. She had totally forgotten about their dea. How could she forget? It was her ultimate goal!  
Or was it? A voice inside her squeaked and Lily felt those funny feelings coming up in her stomach again.  
The milk. I've drunk too much of it. She tried to convince herself.  
'I want it at seven in that morning. And you better get it ready at the exact time. Else, I'm going straight to Katrina and tell her everything about your stupid plan.' She threatened.  
'No need to be so harsh, honey. The book will be right in your precious hands at that time sharp.'  
'Good.' Lily nodded with satisfaction. But if she had caught the sparks in James's eyes, she wouldn't be so sure.  
  
The afternoon session had been cancelled due to the Hogsmede visit. Students was around every part in Hogwarts, enjoying a lesson-free afternoon. The four friends were having an after-lunch stroll, throwing stones into the great lake when Peter collapsed onto the fallen leaves.  
'What's the matter, Peter?' The others rushed to his aid.  
'Wanna throw up...' He groaned and moaned.  
Lupin, having carried Peter's arm over his shoulder, said, 'must've been the pumpkin juice and milk. He drank them both.'  
James stared unbelievably at Peter and offered to help. 'No, I can bring him to Madam Pomfrey myself.' Lupin refused.  
With a wink at Sirius unseen to James, Lupin dragged Peter towards the school building, leaving behind them a trail of milky brown stuff.  
  
  
10. Are you sure?  
  
Lily fell onto her bed.  
'What're you doing?' Nalia asked, looking rather shocked.  
'Taking a nap.'  
'I thought you were going to Hogsmeade with James.'  
'I am.'  
'It's only thirty minutes away.'  
'That's why I'm taking a quick nap.'  
Nalia sighed, and kneed beside her friend's bed. 'Lily, do you not have a drop of female instinct inside your blood?'  
'Excuse me? Female instinct?'  
'Lily, it's your first date with James.' Lily stared. 'Okay, pretended date with him. Surely you don't want to dress in that?' Nalia pointed at her baggy sweater.  
'I'll be dressed in Hogwarts uniform. Nobody will ever see what's underneath.'  
'How about your hair?'  
'I lost my brush.'  
'You can borrow mine.'  
'I don't need half an hour to comb my hair.'  
'Oh yes you do. Now get up and get ready.'  
Lily looked at her lazily from the pillow.  
Nalia sighed again. 'Lily, don't you feel nervous, not a bit at all?'  
'Why should I?'  
'It's a guy, after all. And it's no other guy but James Potter.' Nalia said as if it explained everything, yet, Lily looked like she was still staying right in the centre of the fog.  
'Can't you feel, how to say, butterflies in your stomach?'  
Lily thought for a second. 'A bit hungry, that is true.'  
Nalia growled. 'Get up now and I'll help you with your hair.'  
'But-'  
'No more buts!'  
Lily, like a daughter in front of a scowling mother, obediently sat down on an armchair and let Nalia to deal with her hair.  
'You just threw my hair band away!'  
'Because you don't need it. See? You hair brings out the colour of your eyes. You look beautiful.'  
'But I feel unfortable.'  
'Looks are the most important things for girls, Lily. Most of the guys around here only care for good-looking girls.' Oh how right they do. Nalia's anger steamed up at the picture of a prefect Katrina in Frank's arms.  
'It's not like I'm trying to fish a husband around here, Nalia.'  
'Lily, you must make that harpy feel as horrible as possible.'  
'Harpy? You call Katrina a harpy?' Lily was surprised. Nalia seldom spoke ill of other girls.  
'The way she throws her gazes upon other males even when she's with Frank...it makes me sick.'  
'So you know.'  
'Yes, and thanks for not telling me earlier, cos I can't stand it.'  
Enough about her worries, Nalia had her attention focused on her friend. 'Lily,' her tone serious, 'do you have any feelings towards James? Anything at all? Like a little...love?'  
'What? No way! I hate him!' Lily was insulted at the accusation.  
'Are you so sure of everything?'  
'Of course I'm sure.' Lily gripped the bottom of her sweater. She had to be sure-knowing dearly what the consequences of loving a person would be. She had a distasteful sister and two dead parents back at home to prove it to her constantly, thank you very much.  
  
'See? My stone hopped for four times.'  
'I once had it for five times over the water.'  
'So, Remus told me you were going to meet Lily here for the visit.'  
'Yes.' James stopped his game, preparing himself for Sirius's next question. He knew Sirius did not say that just to remind him.  
'Are you sure you two are only pretending to be an item?' Sirius dropped his stone as well and looked at James.  
'Absolutely. You don't think we're doing it the other way around, do you?' James joked.  
Sirius did not laugh, 'if you say so.'  
James stared at Sirius. It's odd to see him so confused and troubled. He was always so carefree and playful. Sirius was concerned about him, so was Lupin. They, his friends, looked as if they didn't want to see him getting hurt.  
But why will I get hurt?  
Why?  
James couldn't tell for sure.  
  
  
11. The giant squid  
  
Someone was running towards them.  
'Oh no...how does she know I am here?' James flared furiously at Sirius, 'you tell her?!'  
'No way! Run!' Sirius pushed James.  
'It's too late!'  
Indeed, the someone, who turned out to be the infamous Catti, had already crashed herself into James. Locking her arms around his neck, she attempted to give him a kiss but was fortunately blocked by Sirius's hand.  
'Help me,' said James through clutched teeth.  
Sirius was angered as well. He was going to have a nice, quiet guy talk with James when she intruded upon them.  
'James, please forgive me and say you want me back. Pleeaassee?' Catti purred.  
Even with the power of two guys, Catti still stuck to James like bees to honey.  
The pushing and pulling by James and Sirius came to a halt. Another was coming their way and was undoubtedly Lily.  
Gotta hide was all James could thought of. He seemed to forget Lily and him were merely pretended lovers.  
  
'Hello, Lily.' Sirius smiled weakly at her.  
'Hi, Sirius.' Lily looked around him. 'Have you seen James? He told me to meet him here.'  
'James's just left to meet McGonagall. He asked me to tell you to wait in the common room. Why don't we go now? It's getting windy here.' Sirius suggested.  
'Alright.' Her eyes met his.  
Sirius sighed. 'Well, let's go.'  
'Grrr......'  
'What's that?' Lily asked instantly.  
'That's just the giant squid.' Sirius explained quickly.  
'No, look. There're bubbles. Somebody's drowning.' Lily hurried towards the lake, with Sirius cursing to himself behind her.  
'See? There're no bubbles. It's simply your imagination. Come on, James must be waiting for us now.' Sirius had to lure Lily as far away from the lake as possible.  
'But there's something down there.' Lily pointed. That thing was simply too conspicuous for Sirius to deny seeing.  
'It's the giant squid.'  
'It looks smaller than usual.'  
'Refraction of light.'  
'It has hair.'  
'Winter's coming.'  
'It is multicoloured.' Lily was staring at him now.  
'Bites. It's been bitten by lake mosquitoes.'  
The whole thing sounded ridiculous even to him. Sirius shook his head in frustration. Sorry, James.  
  
At last, the so-called giant squid burst out of the water and was revealed under the midday sun to be James and Catti. James pushed the girl upward with Sirius's help and got out of the lake himself. Both dripped and panted vigorously.  
'Hullo, Lily,' greeted James.  
Lily just stared.  
A minute later, she got back her senses. 'What were you two doing down the lake?'  
'It's her wand...she dropped it to the bottom of the lake. Here you are er...miss.' James handed the girl her wand.  
Catti looked as if she wanted to do something, yet a murdering stare from James stopped any attempt of doing so.  
'Well, I guess I should wait in my dormitory until you are er...drier,' said Lily.  
  
  
12. Awaken  
  
After at least twenty minutes of persuading, explaining, begging and threatening with Sirius's help. James could finally get rid of Catti.  
The second the girl had sobbingly left, James fell onto the ground and breathed, 'girls.'  
Siriu asked pointedly, 'are you in love with her?'  
'Catti? Never.'  
'No, Lily!'  
'How many times do I have to say that we're only pre-'  
'James!' Sirius shook his friend's shoulders as hard as he could make him understand. 'Look at me, and wake up. We-Remus and I thought so in the beginning, and made fun of it. But can't you see even for now? It's right in front of you. At first, perhaps all you want to do is only to piss Katrina off, but gradually, there's no Katrina, and now it's only you and Lily. James, do you know every time when you talked to her, your eyes lit up? Do you remember you never mind if I was flirting with your girls? Do you understand why you jumped into the lake just now?' Sirius released his friend. 'When you didn't even think of avoiding Katrina when she saw you with Catti. Do you know why, James?'  
Because I never cared about Katrina. I didn't care if she would saw me with another girl or not.  
But why did I jump into the lake to avoid Lily? Why did I suddenly care so much about how Lily felt?  
James looked at his friend for answers. Sirius sighed, 'because she stole your heart without you realizing it.'  
James thought of the night when he was in the prefects' bathroom with Lily.  
...her eyes are so green.  
'James, you're in love with her.'  
Sirius watched in sympathy at his friend who looked thunderstruck with the idea.  
James, but the most important thing is not how deep you're in love with her, but is whether she has any feelings towards you or not.  
You two are in a play. In a play, only the characters will fall in love with each other, not the players. The play will end, and it will end soon. Then, everything that happened in the play will no longer exist. You cannot bring something pretended into the reality. Because it is not real.  
When that moment comes, what will you do?  
And what will you do afterwards, James?  
  
The real giant squid broke of the fluttering water, and skidded idly across the lake.  
Sirius dropped next to James. 'Remember in year one when I got caught for fishing the squid with Snape's vest?'  
'Yes.' James had to let out a laugh. 'And you were ordered to clean all the Slytherin boys' vests that day...without magic.'  
'What a nightmare. The Slytherins themselves were stinking enough, believe me. The second I got of the room of Slytherin vests, I wondered if my nose would ever function properly again.'  
'You could still sniff girls well.' James did not hesitate to add.  
'That's my instinct. Losing it, Sirius would be fallen.' The confident Sirius said.  
James asked quietly, 'Sirius, are you interested in Lily?'  
Sirius stretched his arms. 'Do you mean the kind of interest I hold for every single female in this world? I think I do.'  
James thudded him playfully.  
'Come,' Sirius patted his lap, 'Lily's probably waiting for you.'  
  
'Who will knock a dormitory door?' Gem, dressing in a bathrobe and had her head wrapped with a towel, complained as she went and got the door.  
With her eye wrinkles removers, she couldn't quite make out the tall person standing out there. Releasing a growl, Gem pulled them away, and found her looking at two rows of white teeth that Snape could never dream to have, above, two sparkling brown eyes behind a pair of round black-framed glass, and a head of messy jet hair that actually looked pretty stylish to her.  
James was startled when the girl banged the door hardly in front of his face, and even more so when he heard her screaming 'it's James Potter! And he saw me with a slice of lemon over each of my eyes! Ahhh!!!'  
James knocked again. This time, he was smart enough to proclaim his reason there. 'Is Lily here? I'd like to see her.'  
Lily, stood up from her bed and rolled her eyes at the sight of her roommates, Gem, Pearl and even Nalia, who had squeezed into a corner, motioning to her to keep quiet.  
The door was opened a second time. James found himself face to face with a make-up free, or rather lemon-free, properly dressed Lily.  
'Is your roommate all right?' He frowned after the empty beds. 'Where is she?'  
'They.' Lily corrected. 'Probably hiding under their beds. Shy.' She mouthed the last word.  
James seemed to understand.  
'Are you dry now, squid?'  
'Yup. Let's go.' He led her down the stairs.  
  
  
13. Green and black  
  
On the way to the Hogsmede village, there were neither words nor attacks between them. James, his hands in his robe pockets, looked up at the sky all the time. Lily, arms-crossed, had her eyes fixed on the ground along the road. Everything, even the birds, was unusually quiet.  
A hawker, catching the sight of the brand-new sneakers that appeared under James's robe, knew he had found a potential customer. As James and Lily passed his cart, he hopped out in front of them.  
'Good day, my lord and lady. My name's Samaro, and I welcome you to my humble shop. Would you like to have a look at my wares? Egyptian, Chinese, European...anything you ask, I will likely provide you.' He grinned widely.  
James took a peek at his store. 'Well, a quick look won't hurt.' He eyed Lily for her will.  
'Sure.' She answered shortly.  
The hawker, having judged by himself what was between the two, grinned even wider, showing his silver molar.  
'Maybe, something for a girl?' He turned to James. 'A very special girl.'  
Lily suddenly appeared tense. James, catching her look, determined to let the play continue. 'Perhaps.' He sniggered at Lily.  
'Mmm...not like any normal girl. Probably not the silly, giggling type. A girl who has the equal share of beauty and wisdom, isn't it?' The merchant winked at James. 'I think I just get the right thing for her here.' His bald head was no where to be seen among his many crates for a minute. 'Uh-huh, here it is.'  
In his hand was a necklace. He held it up to Lily and James's face. It appeared to be a black string with an emerald in the middle. The emerald glowed with a golden glint under the afternoon, giving it an almost unearthy look.  
'No. This is not neccessary, I don't want-' Lily let out.  
'I do believe I am talking to this gentleman here.'  
'But we're only pretending to be in a relationship.'  
'That's what all the lovers always say in the beginning.'  
'James!' Lily scowled at the boy beside her. 'Remember I had only promised to be-'  
'Oh, shut up, honey.' James smiled warmly at her. 'And put it on.' He ringed the string around her neck.  
Do not blush, do not blush. Lily commanded silently to herself as James's eyes were on her neck, fixing the necklace lock.  
'Thanks a lot. That'll keep the girl happy, for now.' James paid the merchant generously.  
After James had his feet back on the road, Lily, not sure of how she should react, decided she should set James's cloak on fire with her glares as she followed behind him.  
Observing their every move, Samaro sighed, 'ah, youth.'  
  
The footsteps of Lily ceased.  
'James?'  
'Yes?'  
'I er...want to go to the lavatory.'  
'You want me to wait for you here?'  
'That's...not neccessary. Why don't you wait for me in the Three Broomsticks?'  
'Kay.' James shrugged.  
Lily pushed the door on her left and entered the ladies' washroom.  
There were no reasons for her to be here. She just want to...get away from James.  
For some reason.  
Lily could not describe what had been happening. She did not know.  
Or she did not want to know.  
However, whatever the reason was, she felt miserable, and-  
What is happening to me?  
She looked into mirror, into her emerald eyes, and at the emerald stone hanging on the black string.  
The mirror said, 'you look very nice in that necklace. Do you know green always looks great against black?'  
Lily, her fingers on the stone, smiled weakly.  
James's hair was jet black.  
  
  
14. Some scar that shouldn't be mentioned  
  
If Lily had not had glued her eyes at the sight of James surrounded by girls, she would have noticed many guys had their gazes upon her entry. The Three Broomsticks were packed with customers in every inch possible. Here and there were a few Hogsmede villagers and travelers dotted in the massive fog of black that were the Hogwarts students. After a great deal of cut and thrust, Lily found James not looking too pleased with the attention he got either.  
Catching the presence of Lily, the giggling girls hid their teeth and scattered away back into the crowd like Dementors facing a Expecto Patronum.  
Only now did James truly noticed Lily had let her hair down. Her green eyes under the long red hair reminded him of yesterday's little accident. Yes, even though James had pretended as if nothing had happened for the whole morning, he still remembered exceptionally clear where the hairbrush in his robe pocket came from. Since he dared not to risk the chance that his roommates might found a lily-patterned brush under his pillow, he carried it with him anywhere he went. That fact that Lily had suddenly loosen her hair nearly made James believe she read his mind last night. Regardless, he had to smile in appreciation at her feminine look.  
The waitress came by and took their orders.  
'Butterbeer.' The couple, okay, pretended couple said in union and brought a smile on the waitress's face.  
James raised a brow. That explained the mystery of the prefects' bathroom door.  
'So...what are we doing here?' Lily asked after a sip of her drink.  
'Waiting for Katrina and Frank. All Hogwarts students came here eventually.'  
Why did he have to lie? James thought. Sirius's right. He didn't seem to care about Katrina or Frank's affairs. He just wanted to...  
He shook his head. Couldn't be. This was a dream-a bad dream. When he opened his eyes again, all he could see would be the top of his four-poster bed. Then he would realize everything was a sympton of hormonal imbalance.  
James shut his eyes tight and forced them open again. Still, he was staring into Lily's face. Strangely, he couldn't have those thoughts, which would definitely be despised by his conscience, on Lily. It wasn't some stupid teenage nonsense. Right now, his heart sank at the thought that he might not be able to see those green eyes so closely after this day.  
What would happen when their deal was over? Would they still eat together like this? Or would they switch back to the sort of relationship they had before?  
James knew he couldn't.  
Could she?  
She seemed to enjoy it. Was it because of him? Or only for the sake of Nalia?  
Lily's touch kicked him back to the Three Broomsticks. Her fingers had brushed aside his hair and pointed at a scar on his forehead.  
'What's that?'  
'When I'm six, a cupboard fell on me. Luckily, my dad's nearby and he saved me from a very painful death, though I ended up with this scar.'  
'Cupboard fell on you? You weren't stealing cookies, were you?' Lily teased.  
'Then I'd deserved the death. No. A wizard set it on me.'  
'A wizard? Why?'  
'Dad's the chief auror. And he's got plenty of people hating him, sending death threats, and, you know, that sort of things.'  
'Were anyone in your family...hurt?' The light in Lily's eyes faded.  
'Mom died one time. But we're fine, dad and I.' The picture of his mother lying lifelessly beside the fireplace still hunted his memories. But he had shed enough tears for her at that time, and there was no use to moan for the dead too much. 'Your mother will not visit you from heaven and write you letters everyday if you spend all day crying and doing nothing.' His father had threatened. Even though James knew it all along that it was him who wrote those letters, as his father's 'i' always lacked the dot, he didn't say anything. It was their secret way of supporting each other through that tough time, after all.  
Lily looked at him in an almost un-Lily way and that made him feel uneasy.  
'How about yours?' He asked and jolted instantly. You weren't there, remember?  
Lily's arms, in some reason, moved protectively in front of her chest, and wore an expression of typical Lily. 'How do you know? Nalia told you about it?' She scowled.  
'Yeah, Nalia and I spent so much time these days that she told me everything about you including that scar...I see you aren't laughing...I mean, everybody's got a couple of scars on them, right?'  
'But you sounded so sure...Ouch! What did you kick my leg for?'  
James turned his head away from Lily and cursed, 'oh, damn.'  
During that jolt on his seat, the hairbrush had somehow slipped out of his pocket and landed under the table. James intended to kick it back to him but his foot mistakenly regarded Lily's foot as the brush and kicked at her instead.  
'What the-' Lily's head disappeared under their table and when it emerged, she had the hairbrush in her hand, her eyes widened in shock.  
'Thanks. It's mine.' James grabbed for it, but Lily jerked his hand away.  
'You use brush with lilies on it?'  
'Yes. Sirius has one with roses on it, too.' He tried to get it again.  
'Where did you buy it?' She questioned harshly, and hid it behind her.  
'I got it from er...my mother!'  
Lily was not listening. 'No...it isn't yours. It's mine. And you...you weren't guessing about that scar...you saw it! You were in the bathroom last night! With me!'  
'Uh-oh.' James watched in silent fear as Lily's chest expanded in fury, her face reddened in embarrassment and-  
Before he could see more, Lily had poured her cup of butterbeer right at his face and stormed out of the pub. Other girls immediately came to his rescue.  
But I had my back on you, so I didn't see anything...not much anyway.  
It's all because of butterbeer! James didn't know whether to thank it or not as he dried his face with something a girl had lent him.  
  
  
15. Only pretending  
  
I was beginning to think differently of him when he-that rotten Potter rotter!  
Lily had never felt angrier before. She hated Potter, she hated the prefect bathroom, she hated everything and most of all, she hated herself.  
Because she didn't seem to mind about Potter watching her taking a bath.  
Disgusting!  
And Lily felt those funny feelings in her stomach again.  
Can't you feel butterflies in your stomach? Nalia had asked.  
No! It's not butterflies!  
It's the butterbeer I just drank.  
'Lily, wait!' James's voice reached her ears.  
Don't you dare turning back. Her mind shouted at her mind. Ignore him! Ignore him forever!  
Anyway, her pace had slowed down for James to get to her.  
'Lily, stop! It's not what you think.'  
So you want me to believe you had closed your eyes when I'm completely clotheless? Never in my life, Potter! Especially when it's you!  
'Lily, look! It's Katrina and Frank.'  
Lily stopped heading to Hogwarts. An image of a hurt Nalia appeared in front of her.  
Lily, you must make that harpy feel as horrible as possible.  
A deal is a deal. Her senses said.  
The second she had turned, her mouth was sealed by James's.  
Lily tried to push back , but her knees felt terribly weak. James slipped his arms under hers and embraced her around her waist. His moist lips, which tasted like butterbeer, sent electricity throughout her whole body. He kissed her so gently, so carefully that she could feel herself melting, melting inside his arms. Unconsciously, her arms crawled their way over his stiff shoulders.  
When their lips broke apart. Lily looked around her.  
There were no Katrina and Frank, or any other people.  
There were only James and her.  
  
Lily's eyelashes brushed against his chin. It was a funny yet comfortable sensation. James lowered his eyes to Lily's red head, expecting her explosive reaction. Her hands around his neck slid down slowly, curled into two fists and hit him weakly at his chest.  
She was crying.  
James raised her head and carried her soft cheeks in her hands. Her green eyes were flooding with tears.  
'What's wrong, Lily?' He wiped a tear with a thumb. 'I'm-I'm sorry for kissing you. I mean-I...' His heart ached in pain.  
'You said I only need to pretend...' She murmured.  
'I shouldn't have lied to you about Katrina and Frank. I apologize, okay? Now, don't cry.'  
'You said I only need to pretend...' she sniffed, 'to be in love with you...But I-' She broke into sobs again.  
Comfort her, you idiot. His conscience scolded. But what am I supposed to say? I don't wanna see you cry...er...I will never treat you bad again...I...  
Instead, James found himself saying, 'will you marry me?...Well, I swear...I mean-pretend?' James rolled his eyes. What am I talking about.  
Lily, having heard every word of it, stared.  
  
  
16. Just you and I  
  
Swear it again(Westlife)  
  
I wanna know  
Whatever showed you that I was letting go  
Of the only joy I had never known  
Girl, they are lying  
  
Just look around  
And all the people that we seemed to care  
Whom I had given up, and let them go  
But with you, I'm still trying  
  
Some people say  
That dreams will never exist  
Even the sweetest one will give away to time  
But I'm not buying  
Cos in your eyes  
I have a love that burns eternally  
And if you see how beautiful you are to me  
You'll know I'm not lying  
  
Sure there'll times that we wanna say goodbye  
But even if we try  
There are things in this life that won't be denied  
Won't be denied  
  
The more I know of you is the more that I love you  
And the more I'm sure I want you forever and ever more  
And the more I look into your eyes, the more that I know  
Oh that I'm never gonna let you go  
Gotta let you know that I  
  
I'm never gonna say goodbye  
Cos I never wanna see you cry  
I swore to you my love would remain  
And I swear it all over again and I  
I'm never gonna treat you bad  
Cos I never wanna see you sad  
I swore to share your joy and pain  
And I swear it all over again  
  
So you should know this love I have is never made to die  
And I'm glad we're on this one way street, just you and I  
Just you and I  
  
  
17. Life is short  
  
Nalia, with her roommates still enjoying their Hogsmede visit, was alone in her dormitory reading a novel that she had just bought from a hawker named Samaro from the village. She was on page thirty of Hogwarts: A Love Story and screaming at the book, 'kiss her! Ignore the professor, you idiot!' the minute the door was pushed open. Nalia was so shocked by the tear trails on Lily's face that she jumped right out of her bed, throwing her dear novel away at the same time.  
'I'm-I'm in love.' Lily cried and ran towards Nalia's open arms. Others might have laughed at this scene. But Nalia, who had been Lily's best friend for years, knew better.  
'Of course you are.' She patted Lily at her head.  
'You-you know?' Lily pulled away from her and looked in surprise at Nalia with misty eyes.  
'Yes, Lily.'  
'But how did you know?'  
'Dear Lily,' Nalia sighed, 'I have suspected it since the beginning when you told me about that deal. At first I thought maybe you were really interested in that book given your personality. Then, you changed. You used to hate Potter due to some reasons. But by the way you chatted with him in the hall and talked about him to me every time ever since you've been together, I weren't so sure. And it's this James, who has a reputation of stealing a girl's heart in a second. I didn't know what to think, Lily.' She placed her hands on Lily's shoulders. 'You know what? I've a feeling that the reason you hate him so much is that you love him...Am I right?'  
No, this is not true. Lily thought in horror. I hate him, I hate him because-  
Because...  
Where had the old Potter gone? The Potter who had hair the shape of weed and eyes the colour of dirt. Where was him?  
Instead, all she could remember was a smiling James who called her honey, a caring James who looked at her with lost eyes and a noble James who bought a beautiful necklace for her.  
Lily was speechless.  
  
Gem, her hands full with bags of new clothes and make-ups, halted in astonishment as she opened her dormitory door and found her roommates crying on each other's shoulder as if both of them just got expelled. Nalia motioned to her to go away with a sniff. Gem, having thrown a last curious look, left and rushed down the stairs to search for Pearl and her usual group of gossips incinerators.  
After ensuring the door had been safely closed, Nalia, who had been crying for her friend's misfortune (and a bit for herself, too), asked, 'so...what did he say?'  
'He asked me to marry him.'  
'Huh?' Nalia, mouth opened as widely as she could manage, jumped back in a start and shouted, 'he asked you to marry him?!'  
Lily nodded sobbingly.  
Nalia punched merrily at her pillow and exclaimed, 'Oh, my gosh! I was thinking that he rejected you or anything. And I've been worring about it all along (except when I was reading the novel,' Nalia added secretly.)  
'What've you been worrying about?'  
'It's you, Lily.' She scolded her for not understanding. 'Because I didn't know whether James liked you or not. I was afraid to see you hurt when you knew James had no real feelings towards you. But now, it's no longer a problem.'  
'What do you mean by no longer a problem? It's absolutely a problem. I'm in love. Isn't that enough for a problem?'  
Nalia sighed, 'Lily, I know you've been very sad since your parents was killed by You-Know-Who and your sister blaming you for it. But still you shouldn't run away from a happy life you deserve to have...Life is short, Lily, wonderfully short, and is getting shorter. You don't need to worry about the consequences of falling in love when it fails you, because, who knows, that moment may never come. Live the life. Enjoy the moment. That's what I say to you and what Gladys Lockhart says too.'  
'Who's Gladys Lockhart?'  
'A romance writer.' Lily glared. 'Forget it anyway. Were you happy when you were with James?'  
'A little bit.' Lily replied bitterly. She would not be exactly truthful.  
'See? You're happy. That's already enough. Happiness is everyone's goal. And you get it. What else can you ask for in life?'  
Nalia, now giggling, stepped up to Lily and placed her ear in front of her face. 'Then, did you accept his er...proposal or not?'  
'I don't know.'  
'You don't know?' Nalia frowned. 'What did you say?'  
Lily bent her neck and recalled, 'I said something like "so that you can now openly watch me bathing before you instead of prying me, huh?"...opps.' Lily stopped. She shouldn't have said that.  
'What?! You mean he had-oh, my heavens!' Nalia, totally thunderstruck at what had been going on between these two so-called pretended lovers, had her shouts went all the way downstairs to the chattering incinerators.  
Lily, on the other hand, said with a sigh, 'no, I've left my hairbrush back in the Three Broomsticks.'  
  
  
18. The last night  
  
'Lily Evans.' Lily thought about using her old password for a second, but better not. 'Gladys Lockhart.' And assigned the door one that even James could hardly imagine of, if he guessed right last time.  
After placing her stuff neatly on the marble stand, she screened inch by inch across the bathroom for any other beings. She was going to check on the walls for any secret doors as well when something beside the bath pool caught her eyes.  
Could it be a trap?  
'James Potter, I know you're here somewhere.' Lily said aloud as she took a short walk towards the pool step after step, expecting James to pop out of the ground or drop down from the ceiling in any second. However, the second she reached the pool, she knew her effort had been in vain.  
By the moving statue of the sleeping mermaid were a lily-patterned hairbrush and a note that wrote:  
Jeez, Lily, I'm not here.  
  
Sirius stretched his arms in his sleep and knocked a cup of butterbeer from the top of his drawer onto the carpeted floor. The sound of glass breaking drew groans all over the room and woke Sirius up from his sleep.  
Sirius rubbed his eyes and found the bed next to his to be empty. Wearing nothing except his trunks, he walked out to the common room. If one girl remained awake, the sight of Sirius could probably make her scream so loud (in joy) that she would be able to wake up the whole school. Luckily, there was only one person down there and it was James.  
'James, what're you doing? It's two.' Sirius said with a yawn.  
James still had his eyes on his work. Either he didn't hear him, or he chose to ignore him.  
Sirius looked closely and all his sleepiness was gone in a second. On the table that his friend was working on were a hardcover of a very thick book, hardcovers of very, very thin books, and many, many pages that seemed to be torn out from the very thick book.  
'Is that your dad's book?' Sirius exclaimed. 'Are you sure what you're doing?'  
That got James's attention. 'Oh Sirius? Of course I'm sure what I'm doing. Now, go back to sleep.' He said with a smile.  
Sirius stared at James. He knew James had been keeping things away from them lately. For instance, he could smell shampoo on him that night when he came back from the kitchen without bringing food. Lupin said he saw James stuffing a blue hairbrush with lilies on it under his pillow. Even Peter said the apples that James had given for him to eat made him had no less than twenty visits to the toilet the next morning, although that was probably because James and him had bathed the apple in some potion that muggles used to treat constipation beforehand.  
Instead of pointing out this, Sirius asked James, 'are we still going to plant the timed dungbomb under Snape's desk?'  
James grinned. 'Absolutely. I'll never miss the chance for a thousand galleons.'  
Even though James had said nothing to answered the many questions in his mind, when he got back to his dormitory, Sirius, being James's best friend for years, could still tell a fully awake and worried Lupin that 'he's gonna be fine.'  
  
  
19. The play had begun  
  
Sunday morning common rooms were always like midnight graveyards. The Gryffindor one today was an exceptional case. Lily and James, though both had shady circles under their eyes, some memories selectively forgotten, looked so refreshed as if they just woke up from a three days' sleep.  
'That's it?' Lily moved her thumb and first finger towards each other till there was only a very thin line barely visible to naked eyes between them. 'It's this thin.'  
'Well, you asked for the book my dad passed to me. And this is it.' James had to hid a smile under his hand.  
Lily glanced through the book, which didn't took long as it got no more than five pages and no content page either. James did as he promised, anyway, as the golden word 'Potters' was indeed printed on the cover. She had expected it to be an ancient tome, urgh!  
Lily gave a final weighing of the book and gasped desperately, 'is this all you have?'  
James, however, removed his hands from his jeans pockets and said, 'did I mention my family had got booksss of this? You wanna take a look at each of them, you gotta make a deal with him.' He spread out his palm. 'Deal, honey?'  
This time, Lily had to pretend to put on a fierce self-struggle look. 'Deal.' And shook his hand.  
  
'You should've giggle.'  
'I won't giggle.'  
Sirius, Lupin, Peter, Nalia and tons of other Gryffindors watched in amazement as Lily and James, with lines of roaring fire across their eyes, entered the common room through the Fat Lady.  
'All girls giggle.'  
'Only silly girls giggle.'  
'McGonagall also giggles.'  
'Those are smiles.'  
Somehow, the play still went on and on.  
  
The End (mm...I have a sequel in my mind but I don't know...)  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


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   [1]: http://virdi-software.com



	3. Sequel

20. Even though  
  
Even though Katrina no longer felt anything on seeing Lily with James, even though she had dumped Frank for another turtle and finally married off to a Chinese muggle known as Dr Chang, even though the old gangs had all graduated, even though Frank and Nalia had their names registered in the book of married witches and wizards, even though their friends had counselled them countless times before, and even as now as they sat in front of us-Lily with her hands around her baby, who were gazing in wonder at the emerald hanging freeing on the black string around her mother's neck; James, sitting in a guy's way, with an arm over Lily's shoulders and his fingers playing with a strand of her auburn hair, their answer had not changed a bit.  
'Are you two in love with each other?'  
Lily and James rolled their eyes and said in union, 'how many times do we have to tell you that we are only pretending to be an item?'  
Little Harry looked between his parents.  
Some pretended love, isn't it?  
  
  
21. Forever and ever more  
  
'Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off-'  
  
His knees fell, but his torso was still upright.  
Voldemort let out a high-pitched laugh in front of him.  
'So, you are going to die like a hero, are you not?'  
James stared, determined not to show a trace of fear in his eyes.  
'Do you want me to give you a clean and painless death?' The Darklord pointed James's wand back at him. 'Or maybe not. Beg me, and I will let you die without pain.'  
'No, I will not.' The words escaped through James's gritted teeth.  
'Oh, our brave hero here holds no fear of physical pain.' Voldemort moved his head next to James's ear. 'Then, how about the pain of witnessing your loved ones' death?'  
'You leave them alone!' James glared as hard as he could.  
'Do not resist. Or it'll hurt.' And then the evil strolled away, leaving the wounded man alone in the room.  
'You're not done with me yet!' James cried, trying to call the monster back and give time for them to escape.  
Before thinking about what Voldemort had meant, James found his wand was suddenly back in his hands.  
But he could not feel it, he could not feel his fingers, nor could he move an inch.  
James could only see, in his eyes, the photo on the wall-a photo of him and his friends, taken during their sixth year, after they learnt how to be Animagus. That was a time of pure happiness, when they knew no worries, no evil, a time that still brought a smile to his face.  
James knew what would happen.  
Goodbye, my friends.  
  
'Not Harry! Not Harry! Please-I'll do anything-'  
'Stand aside-stand aside, girl-'  
Voldemort directed his wand at Lily, throwing her across the family room. She landed painfully on the floor next to her baby.  
With all pace, Lily carried it in her arms, and screened it from Voldemort. Panting, she thought of what she could do.  
Something called for her.  
Lily looked up and saw the moon, the same moon that she used to see in Hogwarts, with James, when both of them were lying next to each other talking endlessly about the future, about each other, about everything, and attacking each other with words at every given chance at the same time.  
James...with the weeded head and dirted eyes...  
Lily knew what she would face-the Unforgivable curse, the unblockable curse, the curse of tragedies, tears and pain that had taken the lives of so many people she knew and loved.  
What was she going to do? Never had she felt so helpless, so hopeless.  
Lily looked at the little thing in her arms. It beamed at her happily, despite the circumstances.  
The baby looks exactly like James-his jet black hair, his playful face. But it has my eyes, my own green eyes.  
Like the necklace she was wearing. 'Do you know that green always looks great against black?' The mirror had said.  
Lily couldn't take her eyes away from her baby. 'You're James's and mine. You will be great.' She whispered.  
Unlike her friends, her parents, and...James, nobody was going to take it away.  
Nobody.  
Behind them, Voldemort was approaching them with demonic speed.  
Holding her wand tight in her grip, Lily felt her strength coming back, and a power rose from deep inside her heart to her hand.  
Lily smiled lovingly at her baby, hers and James's, she repeated with determination, and performed her last charm.  
Loving you forever I will.  
I will.  
  
James heard it.  
He shouted, he screamed, but his senseless body was still bathed in the dead silence.  
The Imperio Curse had bound him, bound him on the spot so that he could hear the own death of those he loved before he himself died.  
In front of his eyes, his wand was raised by a hand.  
His hand.  
He was going to die like them too. The only difference was, his death would be a suicide, as Voldemort had planned.  
James fought with all his will, however, the wand didn't stop till it was at his chest. Voldemort's power was too strong. No matter how hard he tried, no matter how his bones were giving out cracking sounds from the struggle between his mind and body, his effort was yet in vain.  
A warm wind blew into the room, and into his heart.  
Is that how all of us feel when we are going to die?  
The wind brought a scent and a strange feeling that were both faraway and familiar. It cleansed his pain, and calmed his soul. It held a hope, a sign that no others could tell.  
But James.  
Even though so many tears have been brought, so many lives of our loved ones have been lost; even though the hope is fragile; even though the light is just a line, we should never give up.  
Because-because...  
'Avada Kedavra.'  
  
The smell of smoke choked him and woke him up from his deep sleep. Harry opened his eyes and saw lines of red, red roaring fire. Reaching out his tiny hands into the air, he seemed to hear them.  
'Romeo and Juliet? Is this what you're reading to Harry? Easter hasn't arrived yet.'  
'Why does it have anything to do with easter?'  
'It is an easter tale, after all.'  
'Excuse me? An easter tale?'  
'Isn't it about two jerks selling easter eggs on the same street?'  
'Jerks?! Easter eggs?! How can you regard the book of the century as some stupid easter tale? James, you are a miracle!'  
'Well, it probably took a miracle to get you married off.'  
Harry chuckled. However, after waving his hand in the air for minutes, he couldn't find the faces he could always find. For the first time in his life, Harry felt fear.  
The emeralds that were his eyes darted nervously, from the burning table, to the empty doorframe and to the broken windows, where they stopped because he saw a round silver orb, and because he felt a warm wind blowing over his forehead.  
In the wind, he heard music; in the music, he found peace and those he's been looking for. It sang to him, just like any other night.  
Little Harry could feel his eyelids falling down and when he fell into sleep again, the wind was gone but the music still reverberated in his head, again and again.  
Loving you forever I will.  
I will.  
  
The play ended here.  
  
...... Twelve years later,  
If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. He didn't realize that love as powerful as your mother's for you leaves its own mark. Not a scar, no visible sign...to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will still give us some protection forever.  
Forever, Harry, and ever more......  
  
So is this story.  


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   [1]: http://virdi-software.com



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